Tatum was an incredibly efficient scorer last season, averaging 1.04 points per possession – this ranked in the 80th percentile. But as he noted, there was one glaring weakness he needed to address this offseason finishing better around the rim, shooting 57.4 percent.

Only a dozen players who had a similar shot volume (minimum: 300 attempts) had a lower field goal percentage than Tatum on field goals between zero and five feet of the basket. He ranked in the 39th percentile when in this zone, per Cleaning the Glass.

Thankfully, he is aware of these issues and said he did what he could to address them during the offseason. He also commented on the toughness needed on these finishes during a postgame interview in the playoffs.

Jayson Tatum was just asked about all of the contact he’s taking at the rim. Great answer from a 20-year-old rookie, as he says that it’s the Eastern Finals, and he’s got to be tougher.

There were some facets that were particularly concerning, despite a low sample size. For example, when he was the ballhandler in the pick-and-roll and dribbled off the pick and took it to the basket. Tatum was 5-for-20 (25 percent) on these looks. This was the worst among all players with as many attempts.

He was below average on looks that were not post-ups near the rim. Tatum ranked in the 26th percentile on these shots. Only five players (minimum: 200 possessions) were less efficient, according to Synergy Sports. He was 49.8 percent on these attempts.

Only five percent of his total shots at the rim in college were putbacks. But he shot 62.0 percent during his season at Duke, per hoop-math.com. It’s the main part of his game that did not translate to the pros.

Just like Jaylen Brown had to figure out last year, finishing at the rim is a different game in the NBA than college for Jayson Tatum.

However, it’s a learning curve that most rookies face and many are able to improve with more experience in the league. One case study is Toronto’s Pascal Siakam who shot 73.3 percent at the rim during his final collegiate season.

Siakam (58.5 percent) had an almost identical field goal percentage to Tatum (57.4 percent) on attempts within five feet of the basket as a rookie. During his second season in the league, however, he was able to improve that mark considerably. He shot 68.9 percent on those attempts last year, which ranked Top 10 among all players with at least 270 attempts.

The Toronto forward shot 51.0 on attempts near the rim that were not post-ups as a rookie and improved this mark to 61.9 percent in his second year. It gives hope that Tatum can have a similar leap, especially if his conditioning this summer paid off.

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Bryan Kalbrosky

Bryan Kalbrosky is an NBA writer for HoopsHype and the managing editor for USA TODAY Sports Media Group's NBA Wire sites. He was previously the editor of The Rams Wire with USA TODAY SMG as well. Bryan has published with FOX Sports, Noisey, Bleacher Report, The Big Lead, LA Weekly, Huffington Post and various other publications.